Let's suppose we play $1/$2 NLHE and we usually buy in for the standard $200. We also top off to $200 whenever our stack dwindles to $100 or below. Let's suppose we also have a session stop loss of 3-buyins: $600.

Imagine the following situation:

We've been losing this session, and after the last hand our stack is $80. We only have $40 left in our pocket. So we lost $480 out of the $600 we brought to the casino.

Now we have a situation where we still have $120 cash left and have not hit our stoploss of $600. Yet, we don't have enough to top off to $200.

How to deal with this? Top off to $120 and play less than a normal stack or call it a day even though you haven't hit your stoploss?

P.S. The numbers are just examples to illustrate the general issue.

If you can manage a 60bb stack and you're still playing well then by all means. For future reference bring a lil more so you can top off as long as you have enough self control to not go over your stoploss

Bring more money or go to the ATM.

call it a day and save your 120 if you cant play optimally

once you only have 60bb left in your pocket it is never worth it to stay. you are not going to be playing optimally knowing thats all you have left, especially short stacked, and you will just waste your time chasing your losses until you've lost that as well

AINEC. Putting money on short is just burning money imo.

And personally, I top off more often. When I hit about 75% of my buying, I'll add on. Buy your stoploss up front so you can easily top off quickly (and quietly). Out of chips, or don't have enough to top up to a proper stack? Time to feed the cat...

If your stop loss is $600 bring $800 with you. Unless you're an out of control gambling addict it shouldn't be a problem. And chip up sooner than every $100.

stop for the day. stop-loss doesnt mean win or bust. it takes some self control to leave a loser for the day with money in ur pocket but it will add up over time.

This is not a $600 stop loss then. With NL, every chip on the table is at risk at all times. So if you have taken $675 out of pocket to top off to $200, then you are past your stop loss.

If you want to limit your risk in a given session to $600, bring $600 to the casino. Not a penny more. This is not just an issue for gambling addicts. Poker, like all gambling, taps a deep emotional part of our brains and we need to put boundaries on ourselves to overcome that seduction. Only bring what you are willing to lose.

As for topping up to less than a full stack, it depends on your ability to transition to a short stack strategy. Most LLSNL players simply do not play short stacks well enough for it to be profitable and if you are short stacking because you are already down $400+, it is even less likely that you will play well.

So my formula would be (and my practice is): (1) bring the exact amount of the stop loss and (2) if I can't top up to at least 80% of the maximum, I am done for the night.

P.S. Saving that last $80 or $100 each time, instead of dead-ending it, also really adds up over the long term in your WR.

Top off as soon as your stack is below the initial $200 buy in, ainec. I posted something about this in the chat thread recently. Cliffs: at a 2/5 game, between my bb & sb, I couldn't dig in my pocket fast enough to grab 3 red chips to top off $15 more. Ended up getting it in and stacking a fish, cost me $15 as he covered. Then, within the orbit, stacked another guy...this time around missing the top off cost me $30. Within 15 minutes this one missed top off cost me $45.

Multiply that over the course of a month or year, and see just how hard you're value cutting yourself.

You make up two arbitrary rules for yourself and you end having to make a thread about the dilemma they cause.

Either you're trolling the forum or poker is not an activity for you. Please don't follow this up with, "I have a rule to either raise or fold, never call a bet. I have the nuts. The villain goes all in. I can't call, but there is no way to raise and I shouldn't fold the nuts. What should I do?"